This invention relates to a generator for producing electricity from the rotating axle of a railroad car while it is traveling on a railroad track. More specifically, it relates to a mounting assembly that contains the generator and facilitates attachment to the railcar by interfacing with the railcar's bearing adapter.
Various methods are known for supplying power to a railroad car. The most common method is to run an electric cable between each car, with the power source located in the locomotive. This is commonly done for passenger trains. The disadvantage of cables is that when a cable breaks or a connection between the cars fails, power is lost to all of the subsequent railcars. Cables generally are used to transmit high levels of power. Trains that are hauling freight typically do not have electrical power supplied to each freight car as none is usually required. Recent technological advances have made possible equipping railroad freight cars with useful devices. For example, a railcar can be equipped with a global positioning unit and transmitter to relay its position to receivers along the track. A railcar can also be equipped with sensors and transmitters to detect the condition of the cargo or wheel bearings. Data from each railcar can be relayed by RF signals to the locomotive. A railcar can be equipped with an electrically actuated braking unit. These devices require a reliable source of power located on each railcar. Reliability is very important as the devices will have to work in a environment with extreme vibration, thermal fluctuations, dirt and exposure to outside weather. A preferred installation would utilize a battery which is periodically recharged by some type of generator.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,937,581 and 5,132,687 show a system for generating power to charge a battery in a railcar. An inertial energy generator is shown in FIG. 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,581 in which a mass deflects a shaft to which a piezoelectric material is bonded to generate an AC voltage. This approach is only able to produce very small wattage levels. Further, it may not produce any wattage in railcars that are traveling at low speed in which the mass is not sufficiently displaced.
A different approach is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,816. This patent shows a generator driven by a trolley chain. The generator produces power whether the car is moving or stationary as the trolley chain is in continuous motion. This approach would not work with a railroad car and track.
A current unmet need exists for a simple device for connection to existing railroad cars to provide a reliable source of electrical power to each railcar.